Move over Disneyland, the Vikings are setting up a theme park

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Plans to build the largest theme park in Norway call for recreating a Viking world that would include a shimmering lake and forestland inhabited by trolls, dwarves, elves, a Norse underworld, fleet of longships and Viking feasts.

More details have been released on Thors Rike, or Thor’s Kingdom, which aims to become the “Viking capital of the world,” when it opens in the western region of Norway in Haugesund, also known as the “Homeland of Viking Kings” where kings had their royal seat.

The region is also characterised by fjords, waterfalls, glaciers, mountains, sea and lighthouses.

Renderings for Thors Rike call for thrill rides and rollercoasters and elaborate sets that allow visitors to time travel a thousand years into the past to kingdoms of the Vikings.

Like Disney, the blueprint calls for an imposing castle entrance, visible from miles away.

But unlike the stuff of princess fairy tales, the castle at Thors Rike would be the derelict ruins of a former Viking fort, choked by an ancient, crooked tree and its twisted roots.

“The lonely, worn castle marks the entrance to Thor’s Rike. From this vantage point the fort looks abandoned, destroyed and a little scary. But the dream of adventure on the other side is tantalising,” reads the park description.

Preliminary drafts divide the park into six parts. At The Grotto, guests visit the Norse underworld via watery log ride, where they confront ancient monsters from Norse mythology.

At Harbour Village, guests find a Viking hamlet on the banks of a shimmer lake, where a fleet of long longships is parked.

After working up an appetite, there’s the Valhalla, where guests are invited to partake in a Viking feast at the great hall of Odin.

The plans are ambitious, but the developers are still looking for funding and investment. The initial opening date was pegged for next year, but realistically looks more like 2019 to 2020. – AFP Relaxnews